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List of Chief Justices of India

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Sanjiv Khanna

The Chief Justice of India is the highest-ranking officer of the Indian judiciary and the chief judge of the Supreme Court of India. As head of the Supreme Court, the chief justice is responsible for the allocation of cases and appointment of constitutional benches which deal with important matters of law.[1] In accordance with Article 145 of the Constitution of India and the Supreme Court Rules of Procedure of 1966, the chief justice allocates all work to the other judges.[2]

A new chief justice is appointed by the president of India with recommendations by the outgoing chief justice in consultation with other judges.[3] The chief justice serves in the role until they reach the age of sixty-five or are removed by the constitutional process of impeachment.[2] As per convention, the name suggested by the incumbent chief justice is almost always the next senior-most judge in the Supreme Court. This convention has been broken twice: in 1973, Justice A. N. Ray was appointed superseding three senior judges and in 1977, Justice Mirza Hameedullah Beg was appointed as the chief justice superseding Justice Hans Raj Khanna.[4]

A total of 51 chief justices have served in the office since the Supreme Court of India superseded the Federal Court of India in 1950. Yeshwant Vishnu Chandrachud, the 16th chief justice, is the longest-serving chief justice, serving over seven years (February 1978July 1985), while Kamal Narain Singh, the 22nd chief justice, is the shortest-serving, for 17 days in 1991. As of 2024, there has been no woman who has served as chief justice of India.[5] The current and 51st Chief Justice is Justice Sanjiv Khanna, who entered office on 11 November 2024.[6][7] He will have a term of 6 months and is due to end on 31 March 2025.

List of Chief Justices of the Supreme Court of India

[edit]

The Supreme Court of India came into being on 1 October 1937.[8] The seat of the court was in Delhi[9] and it functioned until the establishment of the Supreme Court of India on 28 January 1950. The first chief justice was Sir Maurice Gwyer.

Key
Acting Chief Justice
Chief Justices of the Federal Court of India
No. Name
(birth–death)
Image Start of Term End of Term Length of term Parent Bar / High Court Appointed by

(Governor-General of India)

Ref.
1 Sir Maurice Linford Gwyer
(1878–1952)
Maurice Linford Gwyer 1 October 1937 25 April 1943 5 years, 206 days Inner Temple Victor Hope [10]
Sir Srinivas Varadachariar
(1881–1970)
25 April 1943 7 June 1943 43 days Madras
2 Sir William Patrick Spens
(1885–1973)
7 June 1943 13 August 1947 4 years, 68 days Inner Temple
3 Harilal Jekisundas Kania
(1890–1951)
Harilal Jekisundas Kania 14 August 1947 26 January 1950 2 years, 165 days Bombay Louis Mountbatten [11]

List of Chief Justices of India

[edit]
Key
Died in office
Resigned
No. Name
(birth–death)
Image Start of Term End of Term Length of Term Parent High Court Appointed by
(President of India)
Ref.
1 Harilal Jekisundas Kania
(1890–1951)
Harilal Jekisundas Kania 26 January 1950 6 November 1951 1 year, 284 days Bombay Rajendra Prasad [11]
2 Mandakolathur Patanjali Sastri
(1889–1963)
Mandakolathur Patanjali Sastri 7 November 1951 3 January 1954 2 years, 57 days Madras [12]
3 Mehr Chand Mahajan
(1889–1967)
Mehr Chand Mahajan 4 January 1954 22 December 1954 352 days Lahore [13]
4 Bijan Kumar Mukherjea
(1891–1956)
Bijan Kumar Mukherjea 23 December 1954 31 January 1956 1 year, 39 days Calcutta [14]
5 Sudhi Ranjan Das
(1894–1977)
Sudhi Ranjan Das 1 February 1956 30 September 1959 3 years, 241 days Calcutta [15]
6 Bhuvaneshwar Prasad Sinha
(1899–1986)
Bhuvaneshwar Prasad Sinha 1 October 1959 31 January 1964 4 years, 122 days Patna [16]
7 Pralhad Balacharya Gajendragadkar
(1901–1981)
Pralhad Balacharya Gajendragadkar 1 February 1964 15 March 1966 2 years, 42 days Bombay Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan [17]
8 Amal Kumar Sarkar
(1901–2001)
Amal Kumar Sarkar 16 March 1966 29 June 1966 105 days Calcutta [18]
9 Koka Subba Rao
(1902–1976)
Koka Subba Rao 30 June 1966 11 April 1967 285 days Hyderabad [19]
10 Kailas Nath Wanchoo
(1903–1988)
Kailas Nath Wanchoo 12 April 1967 24 February 1968 318 days Allahabad [20]
11 Mohammad Hidayatullah
(1905–1992)[a]
Mohammad Hidayatullah 25 February 1968 16 December 1970 2 years, 294 days Bombay Zakir Hussain [21]
12 Jayantilal Chhotalal Shah
(1906–1991)
Jayantilal Chhotalal Shah 17 December 1970 21 January 1971 35 days Bombay V. V. Giri [22]
13 Sarv Mittra Sikri
(1908–1992)
Sarv Mittra Sikri 22 January 1971 25 April 1973 2 years, 93 days Bar Council [23]
14 Ajit Nath Ray
(1912–2009)
Ajit Nath Ray 26 April 1973 28 January 1977 3 years, 276 days Calcutta [24]
15 Mirza Hameedullah Beg
(1913–1988)
Mirza Hameedullah Beg 29 January 1977 21 February 1978 1 year, 24 days Allahabad Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed [25]
16 Yeshwant Vishnu Chandrachud
(1920–2008)
Yeshwant Vishnu Chandrachud 22 February 1978 11 July 1985 7 years, 139 days Bombay Neelam Sanjiva Reddy [26]
17 Prafullachandra Natwarlal Bhagwati
(1921–2017)
Prafullachandra Natwarlal Bhagwati 12 July 1985 20 December 1986 1 year, 161 days Gujarat Zail Singh [27]
18 Raghunandan Swarup Pathak
(1924–2007)
Raghunandan Swarup Pathak 21 December 1986 18 June 1989 2 years, 209 days Allahabad [28]
19 Engalaguppe Seetharamiah Venkataramiah
(1924–1997)
E. S. Venkataramiah 19 June 1989 17 December 1989 181 days Karnataka Ramaswamy Venkataraman [29]
20 Sabyasachi Mukharji
(1927–1990)
Sabyasachi Mukharji 18 December 1989 25 September 1990 281 days Calcutta [30]
21 Ranganath Misra
(1926–2012)
Ranganath Misra 26 September 1990 24 November 1991 1 year, 59 days Orissa [31]
22 Kamal Narain Singh
(1926–2022)
Kamal Narain Singh 25 November 1991 12 December 1991 17 days Allahabad [32]
23 Madhukar Hiralal Kania
(1927–2016)
Madhukar Hiralal Kania 13 December 1991 17 November 1992 340 days Bombay [33]
24 Lalit Mohan Sharma
(1928–2008)
Lalit Mohan Sharma 18 November 1992 11 February 1993 85 days Patna Shankar Dayal Sharma [34]
25 Manepalli Narayanarao Venkatachaliah
(born 1929)
M. N. Venkatachaliah 12 February 1993 24 October 1994 1 year, 254 days Karnataka [35]
26 Aziz Mushabber Ahmadi
(1932–2023)
Aziz Mushabber Ahmadi 25 October 1994 24 March 1997 2 years, 150 days Gujarat [36]
27 Jagdish Sharan Verma
(1933–2013)
Jagdish Sharan Verma 25 March 1997 17 January 1998 298 days Madhya Pradesh [37]
28 Madan Mohan Punchhi
(1933–2015)
Madan Mohan Punchhi 18 January 1998 9 October 1998 264 days Punjab and Haryana K. R. Narayanan [38]
29 Adarsh Sein Anand
(1936–2017)
Adarsh Sein Anand 10 October 1998 31 October 2001 3 years, 21 days Jammu and Kashmir [39]
30 Sam Piroj Bharucha
(born 1937)
Sam Piroj Bharucha 1 November 2001 5 May 2002 185 days Bombay [40]
31 Bhupinder Nath Kirpal
(born 1937)
Bhupinder Nath Kirpal 6 May 2002 7 November 2002 185 days Delhi [41]
32 Gopal Ballav Pattanaik
(born 1937)
Gopal Ballav Pattanaik 8 November 2002 18 December 2002 40 days Orissa A. P. J. Abdul Kalam [42]
33 Vishweshwar Nath Khare
(born 1939)
Vishweshwar Nath Khare 19 December 2002 1 May 2004 1 year, 134 days Allahabad [43]
34 S. Rajendra Babu
(born 1939)
S. Rajendra Babu 2 May 2004 31 May 2004 29 days Karnataka [44]
35 Ramesh Chandra Lahoti
(1940–2022)
Ramesh Chandra Lahoti 1 June 2004 31 October 2005 1 year, 152 days Madhya Pradesh [45]
36 Yogesh Kumar Sabharwal
(1942–2015)
Yogesh Kumar Sabharwal 1 November 2005 13 January 2007 1 year, 73 days Delhi [46]
37 Konakuppakatil Gopinathan Balakrishnan
(born 1945)
Konakuppakatil Gopinathan Balakrishnan 14 January 2007 11 May 2010 3 years, 117 days Kerala [47]
38 Sarosh Homi Kapadia
(1947–2016)
Sarosh Homi Kapadia 12 May 2010 28 September 2012 2 years, 139 days Bombay Pratibha Patil [48]
39 Altamas Kabir
(1948–2017)
Altamas Kabir 29 September 2012 18 July 2013 292 days Calcutta Pranab Mukherjee [49]
40 Palanisamy Sathasivam
(born 1949)
Palanisamy Sathasivam 19 July 2013 26 April 2014 281 days Madras [50]
41 Rajendra Mal Lodha
(born 1949)
Rajendra Mal Lodha 27 April 2014 27 September 2014 153 days Rajasthan [51]
42 Handyala Lakshminarayanaswamy Dattu
(born 1950)
Handyala Lakshminarayanaswamy Dattu 28 September 2014 2 December 2015 1 year, 65 days Karnataka [52]
43 Tirath Singh Thakur
(born 1952)
Tirath Singh Thakur 3 December 2015 3 January 2017 1 year, 31 days Jammu and Kashmir [53]
44 Jagdish Singh Khehar
(born 1952)
Jagdish Singh Khehar 4 January 2017 27 August 2017 235 days Punjab and Haryana [54]
45 Dipak Misra
(born 1953)
Dipak Misra 28 August 2017 2 October 2018 1 year, 35 days Orissa Ram Nath Kovind [55]
46 Ranjan Gogoi
(born 1954)
Ranjan Gogoi 3 October 2018 17 November 2019 1 year, 45 days Gauhati [56]
47 Sharad Arvind Bobde
(born 1956)
Sharad Arvind Bobde 18 November 2019[57] 23 April 2021 1 year, 156 days Bombay [58]
48 Nuthalapati Venkata Ramana
(born 1957)
Nuthalapati Venkata Ramana 24 April 2021 26 August 2022 1 year, 124 days Andhra Pradesh [59]
49 Uday Umesh Lalit
(born 1957)
Uday Umesh Lalit 27 August 2022 8 November 2022 73 days Bar Council Droupadi Murmu [60]
50 Dhananjaya Yeshwant Chandrachud
(born 1959)
Dhananjaya Yeshwant Chandrachud 9 November 2022 10 November 2024 2 years, 1 day Bombay [61]
51 Sanjiv Khanna
(born 1960)
Sanjiv Khanna 11 November 2024 Incumbent −2 days Delhi
  1. ^ Also served as acting President of India and Vice President of India

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Saxena, Namit (23 December 2016). "New Captain Of The Ship, Change In Sailing Rules Soon?". Live Law. Archived from the original on 24 December 2016. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
  2. ^ a b "The Constitution of India" (PDF). Ministry of Law and Justice (India) - Legislative Department. pp. 58–59. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 December 2023 – via India Code.
  3. ^ "Memorandum of procedure of appointment of Supreme Court Judges". Ministry of Law and Justice (India). 11 August 2021. Archived from the original on 9 March 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  4. ^ "How is India's Chief Justice of India chosen?". The Indian Express. 8 October 2022. Archived from the original on 21 October 2022. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  5. ^ Amit Anand Choudhary (6 January 2024). "SC judge: Need more women for gender-neutral judiciary". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 27 April 2024. Retrieved 27 April 2024. Justice B V Nagarathna, who will be the 54th Chief Justice of India and the first woman CJI in 2027 ...
  6. ^ Ayushi Saraogi; Joyston D'Souza (31 December 2021). "4 of the Next 7 CJIs Will Serve Shorter Than Average Tenures". Supreme Court Observer. Archived from the original on 21 January 2022. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
  7. ^ "Justice DY Chandrachud takes oath as the 50th Chief Justice of India". Business Standard. ANI. 9 November 2022. Archived from the original on 9 November 2022. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
  8. ^ George H. Gadbois Jr. (1963). "Evolution of the Supreme Court of India: An Historical Footnote". Journal of the Indian Law Institute. 5 (1): 19–46. JSTOR 43950330. Archived from the original on 10 October 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2024. ... October 1, 1937, the inaugural date of the Supreme Court of India...
  9. ^ Kumar, Raj, ed. (2003). Essays on Legal Systems in India. New Delhi: Discovery Publishing House. pp. 108–11. ISBN 81-7141-701-9. Archived from the original on 30 April 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  10. ^ George H. Gadbois Jr. (1964). "The Federal Court of India: 1937-1950". Journal of the Indian Law Institute. 6 (2/3): 253–315. JSTOR 43949806. Archived from the original on 17 November 2022. Retrieved 21 April 2024. Gwyer retired in 1943 and was replaced by Sir William Patrick Spens. ...Varadachariar served very briefly as acting Chief Justice in 1943 between the date of Gwyer's retirement and the arrival in India of Spens. ... Two days before independence Chief Justice Spens resigned, and the then seniormost puisne judge, Kania, became the first Indian to hold India's highest judicial office.
  11. ^ a b "Justice Harilal Jekisundas Kania". Supreme Court of India. Archived from the original on 28 January 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  12. ^ "Justice M Patanjali Sastri". Supreme Court of India. Archived from the original on 28 January 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  13. ^ "Justice Mehr Chand Mahajan". Supreme Court of India. Archived from the original on 28 January 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  14. ^ "Justice Bijan Kumar Mukherjea". Supreme Court of India. Archived from the original on 28 January 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  15. ^ "Justice Sudhi Ranjan Das". Supreme Court of India. Archived from the original on 28 January 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  16. ^ "Justice Bhuvneshwar Prasad Sinha". Supreme Court of India. Archived from the original on 28 January 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  17. ^ "Justice P B Gajendragadkar". Supreme Court of India. Archived from the original on 28 January 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  18. ^ "Justice A K Sarkar". Supreme Court of India. Archived from the original on 28 January 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  19. ^ "Justice K Subba Rao". Supreme Court of India. Archived from the original on 28 January 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  20. ^ "Justice K N Wanchoo". Supreme Court of India. Archived from the original on 28 January 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  21. ^ "Justice M Hidayatullah". Supreme Court of India. Archived from the original on 30 April 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  22. ^ "Justice J C sshah". Supreme Court of India. Archived from the original on 28 January 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  23. ^ "Justice S M Sikri". Supreme Court of India. Archived from the original on 28 January 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  24. ^ "Justice A N Ray". Supreme Court of India. Archived from the original on 28 January 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  25. ^ "Justice M Hameedullah Beg". Supreme Court of India. Archived from the original on 28 January 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  26. ^ "Justice Y V Chandrachud". Supreme Court of India. Archived from the original on 28 January 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  27. ^ "Justice P N Bhagwati". Supreme Court of India. Archived from the original on 28 January 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  28. ^ "Justice R S Pathak". Supreme Court of India. Archived from the original on 28 January 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  29. ^ "Justice E S Venkataramiah". Supreme Court of India. Archived from the original on 28 January 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  30. ^ "Justice Sabyasachi Mukherjee". Supreme Court of India. Archived from the original on 30 April 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  31. ^ "Justice Ranganath Misra". Supreme Court of India. Archived from the original on 30 April 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  32. ^ "Justice K N Singh". Supreme Court of India. Archived from the original on 28 January 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  33. ^ "Justice M H Kania". Supreme Court of India. Archived from the original on 28 January 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  34. ^ "Justice L M Sharma". Supreme Court of India. Archived from the original on 28 January 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  35. ^ "Justice M N Venkatachaliah". Supreme Court of India. Archived from the original on 28 January 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  36. ^ "Justice A M Ahmadi". Supreme Court of India. Archived from the original on 28 January 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  37. ^ "Justice J S Verma". Supreme Court of India. Archived from the original on 28 January 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  38. ^ "Justice M M Punchhi". Supreme Court of India. Archived from the original on 28 January 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  39. ^ "Justice A S Anand". Supreme Court of India. Archived from the original on 28 January 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  40. ^ "Justice S P Bharucha". Supreme Court of India. Archived from the original on 28 January 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  41. ^ "Justice B N Kirpal". Supreme Court of India. Archived from the original on 28 January 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  42. ^ "Justice G B Patnaik". Supreme Court of India. Archived from the original on 28 January 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  43. ^ "Justice V N Khare". Supreme Court of India. Archived from the original on 28 January 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  44. ^ "Justice S Rajendra Babu". Supreme Court of India. Archived from the original on 28 January 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  45. ^ "Justice R C Lahoti". Supreme Court of India. Archived from the original on 28 January 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  46. ^ "Justice Y K Sabharwal". Supreme Court of India. Archived from the original on 28 January 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  47. ^ "Justice K G Balakrishnan". Supreme Court of India. Archived from the original on 28 January 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  48. ^ "Justice S H Kapadia". Supreme Court of India. Archived from the original on 28 January 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  49. ^ "Justice Altamas Kabir". Supreme Court of India. Archived from the original on 30 April 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  50. ^ "Justice P Sathasivam". Supreme Court of India. Archived from the original on 30 April 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  51. ^ "Justice R M Lodha". Supreme Court of India. Archived from the original on 28 January 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  52. ^ "Justice H L Dattu". Supreme Court of India. Archived from the original on 28 January 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  53. ^ "Justice T S Thakur". Supreme Court of India. Archived from the original on 28 January 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  54. ^ "Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar". Supreme Court of India. Archived from the original on 28 January 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  55. ^ "Justice Dipak Mishra". Supreme Court of India. Archived from the original on 30 April 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  56. ^ "Justice Ranjan Gogoi". Supreme Court of India. Archived from the original on 30 April 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  57. ^ "Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde takes oath as 47th CJI". The Times of India. 18 November 2019. Archived from the original on 18 November 2019. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  58. ^ "Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde". Supreme Court of India. Archived from the original on 28 January 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  59. ^ "Justice N V Ramana". Supreme Court of India. Archived from the original on 28 January 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  60. ^ "Justice Uday Umesh Lalit". Supreme Court of India. Archived from the original on 28 January 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  61. ^ "Justice D Y Chandrachud". Supreme Court of India. Archived from the original on 29 January 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.